In many fields of outdoor activity, people are exposed to adverse climatic conditions for extended periods of time. For example, a tennis player or jogger may be continuously exposed to strong sunlight for many hours. That same person may also be exposed to winds or rain for similar extended periods of time.
One way of preventing the adverse effects of climatic conditions is to wear a hat. In particular, baseball caps are especially useful for this purpose. However, in addition to providing protection from the sun and other elements, baseball hats have also become a popular fashion accessory.
Baseball hats are generally made of leather, fabric or woven material having a hemispherical crown. The crown may also be cylindrical with a flat top. Inside the crown at the lower periphery, there is typically a rim or band of reinforced material called a sizing strip that is used to secure the cap to the head. A visor is attached to the forward lower periphery portion of the crown which serves to shield the face of the wearer from the sun, wind, rain, etc.
In spite of their popularity, baseball hats suffer from design flaws. For example, because the visor usually employs a layer of cardboard, i.e., an "insert board", to provide the requisite stiffness, baseball hats are susceptible to water-damage. Specifically, because of the water-degradable nature of the visor, water contact causes the visor to buckle, degrade, or otherwise become unsightly. Furthermore, baseball hats are typically sold with an unformed, or flat, visor, thus requiring the wearer to initially shape and continually re-shape the visor so as to adequately shade the face of the wearer. Finally, baseball hats have a limited lifespan due to the poor durability of the insert board material, i.e., the visor is susceptible to rips or tears.
Attempts at solving these art-recognized disadvantages have proven to be sub-optimal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,269 discloses a cap visor comprising upper and lower layers of waterproof plastic with a typical cardboard insert board in between. In this manner, this visor is intended to be relatively weather resistant. However, this visor still lacks long term durability, as the inner layer is still insert board, and lacks aesthetic appeal.